The Most Badass Characters On The Walking Dead

As Negan Makes His Entrance, Here Are The Walking Dead's Most Hardcore Characters

The zombie horror’s sixth season reaches its gore-splattered finale on Monday night (9pm on Fox UK). No spoilers, obviously, so as an appetiser, here’s our countdown of The Walking Dead's top 10 characters…

Merle Dixon

AMC

Played by Michael Rooker

We loved to hate racist redneck bully Merle but he earned our grudging respect when he was chained to a roof and forced to hacksaw off his own hand to escape the walkers, then cauterised the stump over a stove. As the Governor's right-hand man (admittedly, minus a right hand) in season three, he came into his own. He partially redeemed himself when he turned on the Governor but, naturally, it backfired – the Governor bit two of his fingers off, then shot him in the chest. The scene where Daryl found his zombified brother eating a corpse, then tearfully stabbed him in the head was a heartbreaker.

Theodore “T-Dog” Douglas

AMC

Played by IronE Singleton

Loyal, compassionate, reassuringly buff and providing much-needed comic relief, T-Dog was revealed to have spent the early days of the zombie outbreak escorting elderly townsfolk to emergency shelters. Aww. He was handy with an axe and even handier with a gun but his defining moment came in season three when he sacrificed himself to save Carol’s life – allowing himself to be eaten alive by a posse of ravenous zombies so she could escape. RIP.

Maggie Greene

AMC

Played by Lauren Cohan

Evolving from sheltered farm girl to teak-tough soldier during the course of the series, vest-and-body-armour-clad Maggie is hard as nails. She not only whups walker ass but barely flinched when the Governor made her strip naked and threatened to rape her. She’s all about survival and protecting her family. Glenn’s a lucky man. Talking of whom…

Glenn Rhee

AMC

Played by Steven Yeun

Expert scavenger Glenn is smart, skilled, brave and pretty tasty – witness that time he ripped bones out of a walker so he and Maggie could use them as weapons. He's one of the few decent, honourable people left in the messed-up Walking Dead world, arguably the heart of the show, and his courtship of Maggie was surprisingly sweet. Let’s hope he can survive. Oh God, we've said it now.

Shane Walsh

AMC

Played by Jon Bernthal

Well-meaning but a bit of a dick, Rick Grimes’ police partner Shane was the show’s first real villain: having an affair with his best buddy’s wife, becoming jealous of Rick when he returns, then shaving his hair off and going completely nutso. He’s killed by a father-son combo at the end of season two, when Rick stabs him, then son Carl shoots his reanimated corpse.

Tyreese Williams

AMC

Played by Chad Coleman

Stop! Hammer time. While others slayed walkers with guns, crossobows, swords or whatever lay to hand, ex-NFL linebacker Ty always used his trusty hammer. The perma-behatted father figure was man enough to forgive Carol for killing Karen. His eventual death from a zombie bite in season five was especially poignant, his last breaths haunted by visions of those he’d lost.

Michonne

AMC

Played by Danai Gurira

Tyreese’s one-time girlfriend, who resembles Jack Sparrow with added side-eye, is a fearless pirate queen who braved the zombie apocalypse solo – with the aid of her trademark katana, a curved samurai sword – before learning how to reconnect with fellow survivors. She kept twin zombie pets, dragging them around on chains as protection and camouflage with their arms and lower jaws removed to stop them attacking. So hard, she claimed the eye of…

The Governor

AMC

Played by David Morrissey

The charismatic, seemingly benevolent leader of Woodbury was, of course, actually an evil tyrant who’d torture or kill as soon as look at you – albeit with one eye, after a fight with Michonne left him rocking an eyepatch. The mass murdering Governor (formerly Philip Blake) even turned out to be faintly sympathetic after we learned that he’d lost his family in the zombie outbreak but couldn’t bring himself to kill his infected daughter. But mainly, he was an utter mentalist and all-round git.

Daryl Dixon

AMC

Played by Norman Reedus

The mop-topped, zombie-slaying redneck with a crossbow might be scarred by their abusive father but he’s almost the polar opposite of his brother Merle. Daryl’s a laser-eyed shot, ice cool under pressure, has a heart of gold and has gradually evolved from an aloof loner to a fully-fledged member of the dysfunctional family of survivors. He pulled an arrow from his stomach to shoot a walker, rides a motorbike, hunts both wildlife and walkers, defends women and has stepped up to become almost a co-protagonist to Rick Grimes. Talking of whom…

Sheriff Rick Grimes

AMC

Played by Andrew Lincoln

Our everyman hero has somehow managed to hold onto his moral compass in the face of tragedies that would destroy lesser men. He leads when he doesn’t want to, has flirted with insanity but always finds his way back from the brink. Rick can be brutal when needed and is competent with weaponry but not an action man – just a leader, protector, dad and all-around dude.